Kate Middleton has been Made a Dame

Catherine Duchess of Cambridge. Photo by Beretta/Sims/REX/Shutterstock (10224127aq)

That’s Dame Catherine to you and I!

The Duchess of Cambridge has been an official member of the royal family for eight years, and now she has had an important title bestowed upon her.

Kate Middleton’s grandmother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth II, has formally named her a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order.

The title is the highest possible rank and places the 37-year-old among prestigious company such as the Queen’s husband Prince Phillip, her sons Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, Prince Charles’s wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, and Prince Harry.

Queen Victoria established the Royal Victorian Order in 1896 as a means to recognize people who helped or represented her, with the ruling monarch getting to decide who receives the honor.

Prince Phillip was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order on his and the Queen’s 70th wedding anniversary, with history now repeating itself as Kate received her Damehood on her and Prince William’s 8th anniversary.

Now that’s a Dame good gift.